Raising tortoises is usually quite a peaceful and lovely experience, they don’t bark like dogs and they don’t scratch like cats, they’re usually very silent, until they aren’t.
If your pet tortoise stops being so silent, if it starts squeaking at night, then you’d understandably be concerned, this article looks into why they do this
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Why is my tortoise squeaking at night?
Your pet tortoise can’t verbally tell you how it is feeling but it’s actions can and will, one action that will show you how the animal is feeling is its squeaking at night
Here is why your pet tortoise squeaks at night:
Obstruction:
One reason why you may suddenly hear squeaking in your tortoise at night may be that the animal inhaled something while sleeping.
The air, from breathing in and out passing the object in your pet’s nose, may be what’s causing the squeaking in your pet.
Anything from foreign objects, debris, or food may be stuck in your pet’s nose.
What to do:
Allowing the animal to release the object on its own in this case is the more recommended course of action, inhaling and exhaling should get the object to come out
Keep an eye on your pet to see if the object comes out, avoid trying to remove the object yourself as you could inadvertently push the object up the animal’s nose and cause further injury to your pet.
If the object doesn’t come out in 24-48 hours then you can take your pet to the vet to have the obstruction taken out.
It is cold:
Another reason why your pet tortoise may be squeaking at night may be that the room that it is in, or its enclosure, is too cold.
These animals, just like any other animal, will react to the cold in their own unique way, and your pet’s way of reacting to the cold will be to take deep and shallow breaths.
These deep and shallow breaths may come out as squeaking.
What to do:
Because these animals can’t produce their own body heat you would need to increase the temperature of the animal’s environment.
Do this by making sure that the animals basking lamp is working as it should, introducing heaters into the room that your pet is in, increasing the temperature of the animal’s water, introducing heating pads to help the reptile get warm, and offering your pet warm food and water before it goes to sleep
Respiratory infection:
Another reason why you may start to hear squeaking coming from your tortoise at night may be because the animal has a respiratory infection and is having difficulty breathing.
Respiratory infections cause mucus to build up in the animal’s respiratory tract.
This mucus causes breathing issues in your pet such as slow and shallow breathing and this causes the animal to squeak as it breathes
What to do:
A respiratory infection is generally remedied with antibiotics, that is, if the turtle’s infection is caused by bacteria.
Lab work is needed to figure out the reasons behind the infection. Your pet would need to be taken to the vet to have the lab tests done and to get antibiotics.
Isolate the animal, give it good food and water, and maintain or increase the temperature of the enclosure until you can get the animal to the vet.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Baby Tortoise Crying Noise At Night Sick, Why Is My Turtle Making Clicking Noises?, Tortoise Making Whistling Noise When Eating, Tortoise Clicking Jaw, Tortoise Swollen Neck, Tortoise Making Whistling Noise, Tortoise Gasping, Baby Tortoise Gasping, Sulcata Tortoise Making Clicking Noise